Most of the people who have read Kambaramayana or have heard the story of Ramayana in Tamil tend to believe that Ravana was a true Dravidan King. That being the case after Dravidian movement many people felt, Ravana was wronged and killed by Rama an Aryan King. So how true is the Aryan- Dravidian conflict in Ramayana ? Why did Kamban introduce such conflict of cultures in his work? This essay is intended to probe through the two questions and try to present the answer.

To analyze this subject we should understand some important events in history of Tamil Nadu. The essay would first discuss the moral and ethical rules of indigenous traditions of Tamil Nadu and of the northern Brahmanical religion. Then the essay would focus on the conflict of interest between the two orders(indigenous and northern traditions) and formation of new order which has prevailed till this day. Then the essay would analyze how Kamban has used history of Tamil Nadu in his work and what modifications he has made to the Sanskrit Ramayana.

Maram and Aram :

I would like to quote a very important poem from Purananuru.

362. உடம்பொடுஞ்சென்மார்!

பாடியவர்: சிறுவெண்டேரையார்

திணை: பொதுவியல்துறை: பெருங்காஞ்சி

ஞாயிற்றுஅன்னஆய்மணிமிடைந்த

மதியுறழ்ஆரம்மார்பில்புரளப்,

பலிபெறுமுரசம்பாசறைச்சிலைப்பப்,

பொழிலகம்பரந்தபெருஞ்செய்ஆடவர்

செருப்புகன்றுஎடுக்கும்விசயவெண்கொடி

அணங்குஉருத்தன்னகணங்கொள்தானை,

கூற்றத்தன்னமாற்றருமுன்பன்,

ஆக்குரல்காண்பின்அந்தணாளர்

நான்மறைகுறித்தன்றுஅருளாகாமையின்

அறம்குறித்தன்று; பொருளாகுதலின்

மருள்தீர்ந்து, மயக்குஒரீஇக்,

கைபெய்தநீர்கடற்பரப்ப,

ஆம்இருந்தஅடைநல்கிச்,

சோறுகொடுத்து, மிகப்பெரிதும்

வீறுசான்நன்கலம்வீசிநன்றும்,

சிறுவெள்என்பின்நெடுவெண்களரின்,

வாய்வன்காக்கைகூகையடுகூடிப்

பகலும்கூவும்அகலுள்ஆங்கண்,

காடுகண்மறைத்தகல்லென்சுற்றமொடு

இல்என்றுஇல்வயின்பெயர ; மெல்ல

இடஞ்சிறிதுஒதுங்கல்அஞ்சி,

உடம்பொடும்சென்மார், உயர்ந்தோர்நாட்டே,

Purananuru 362

Across their chest the necklaces are swaying as if they were

Half moons inlaid with the choice gems which resemble suns!

The royal drum to which sacrifices are offered resounds

Within the camp and throughout the army on that multitudes that looks

as if Anangu has been provoked – the white flags of victory raised up

high in lustfor war, the warriors whose feet are monumental

spreading across the earth ! Brahmins listen to the uproar

produced by the assault, its force as hard to withstand as death himself!

This has nothing to do with four Vedas ! this not the matter

for Arul(mercy). It has nothing to with Aram(righteousness) but rather Porul(acquisition)!

Abandoning bewilderment, throwing delusion aside,

giving away lovely towns surrounded by paddy fields,

so that the ritual water flows down like the ocean

from their hands, giving away heaps of cooked rice,

giving away finely fashioned ornaments because they feel sure

that they should not stay at home where the chatter

of their relations obscures the existence of burning ground-

that broad place where on the wan ,salty earth stretching out and covered

with tiny white bones, the strong voice crow and owl shriek

even in the broad day light – they slip away to escape from home,

fearful of being confined to this

small world,so that they may reach heaven with their very bodies!

Poet: Ciruventaraiyar

Translated by George L Hart

Here the poet addresses to a group of Brahmins. Brahmins were the representative of new order (Aram- Dharma). He describes that the soldiers of the king were ferocious in battle and would seek death in battle so that they can attain the paradise after their death rather than live in this world. The most important lines of the poem are ‘Brahmins listen to the uproar produced by the assault, its force as hard to withstand as death himself!This has nothing to do with four Vedas ! this not the matter for Arul(mercy). It has nothing to with Aram(righteousness) but rather Porul(acquisition)!’. These lines show that the people of Tamil Nadu had indigenous moral and ethical codes which were different from Brahmanical Dharma.

The Tamilians followed the code of Maram . Maram is often translated as ‘Martial Courage’. The aim of every man was to die in the war. If a person died in war it was believed to be a good death and it was believed he would reach the Paradise after his death. To die in a bed was considered as bad death. So if any King died in bed, people would cut the dead body into pieces with swords, as they believed only if a person died by sword, they would reach the paradise. This practice was performed even on dead children and new borns. To the Tamil people, war and agriculture was nearly the same. Agriculture was practice or art of cultivating food which to feed man to live. War was sport /art which helped to feed man to attaining the higher objective of reaching the paradise. War was a duty, for every king /soldier/man wanted to die in a battle. No solider worries that he has killed a person in battle for he has helped the dead solider do his duty and also helped him reach the paradise.

On the other hand Aram is often translated as righteousness. It means ‘order of the world’. Aram – Dharma is connected with Brahmins and upper class land non militant landholders who believed in four Vedas.

‘Aram’ is dharma in Tamil. Thiruvalluvar who chose to explain the ‘Dharma, artha, kama, moksha’ rightly named the first part of his work as ‘Arathupaal’. He left out the moksha because as it refers to the final stage achieved by proper conduct of the earlier three aspects of life. No rule needed to be laid down for the moksha.

Saying that Dharma is for Brahmins and Aram for others is wrong. The concept of Dharma is vast; the general rules of dharma are applicable to all in the society. They are ‘saamaanya dharma’. The special dharmic rules for the kshathriyas are referred to by a special term ‘maram’.

Though they deal with different life-situations, the common origin is the same. That is why, Thiruvalluvar clearly stated: Arathirke anbu sarbenpa ariyaar; marathirkum agte thunai. (Thirukkural 76).

In fact Ravana was a Brahmin and Rama was a non-Brahmin. In their eagerness to mislead the people about the imaginary aryan-dravidian conflict in the remote past, to sow the seeds of dissension of the southerners against northerners and create a political divide, such conspiratorial interpretations have been inserted wherever possible; and this Rama – Ravana episode is one among them.